Call to action

The report has prompted autism activists to urge those in the medical community, as well as the general population, to change how they view and treat ASD.

“The report is a very definitive indictment of how we treat autistic people and their families,” said Silberman.

Autistica officials have started a fundraising campaign to raise money for awareness, research, and treatment.

“The inequality in outcomes for autistic people shown by this data is shameful, but we must not forget the real individuals and families behind these statistics,” Jon Spiers, chief executive of Autistica, wrote in his organization’s report.

The crusade would impact a lot of people. Autism now affects 1 in every 68 children in the United States and that percentage is growing rapidly, according to the National Autism Association’s website.

Fournier would like to see the focus of research and treatment shifted to treating the entire spectrum of challenges autism brings as well as the effects in adulthood.

“A lot of symptoms are completely ignored,” she said, “and that leads to a lifetime of pain.”

Silberman agrees. He would like to see some emphasis shifted away from trying to find the causes of autism and put more energy toward helping people already diagnosed.

“We’re not going to find a magic bullet on what produces autism,” he said. “We need to look at what we can do to improve the quality of life for people with autism. The cost of not doing so is death.”